I see that an article in the journal Child Development (Susan Wagner Cook, Ryan G. Duffy and Kimberly M. Fenn) outlines an study that shows empirical evidence that hand gestures help to impart communication more effectively....
"Children who observe gesture while learning mathematics perform better than children who do not, when tested immediately after training. How does observing gesture influence learning over time? Children (n = 184, ages = 7–10) were instructed with a videotaped lesson on mathematical equivalence and tested immediately after training and 24 hr later. The lesson either included speech and gesture or only speech. Children who saw gesture performed better overall and performance improved after 24 hr. Children who only heard speech did not improve after the delay. The gesture group also showed stronger transfer to different problem types. These findings suggest that gesture enhances learning of abstract concepts and affects how learning is consolidated over time."
- Will we see this study being quoted in future instead of people misrepresenting Mehrabian?
- Rus Slater
- www.coach-and-courses.com
One Response
Really interesting. I have a
Really interesting. I have a personal anecdote that adds another dimension to this.
My daughter is a classical singer and earns much of her living as a vocal studies teacher. She was working with a new young pupil who was struggling to grasp the idea of singing up and down the scales and how one note can be higher or lower than another. My daughter instinctively asked the child to use her hands to make the "steps" as she went up and down the scale and, by jove, she got it immediately! A good example of kinaesethetic learning!
Jenny